Heels and Hills........what's it all about?

Sandals, kitten heels, pumps, stilettos, wedges, platforms, mules, Mary-Janes, boots...........I am a lover and consumer of all things shoes. However I have had to make way in my collection for runners in my quest for endurance running......this is my story.

Wednesday 30 May 2012

I am Mac 'n' Cheese

Yesterday's run was short and quick - an easy tempo run of only 40 minutes.

I had an appointment at 11am and I had an emotional response during the appointment and sought out a dish of Asian noodles for lunch.................whislt eating the smooth flat rice noodles with tofu and vegetables I realised that they are one of my go to comfort foods.............which got me thinking about why I seek that noodles over other comfort foods......................hello Google..............................apparently comfort food may have a nostalgic or sentimental appeal (um...........................eating noodle dishes was not a favourite past time of my childhood even though we lived a few years in Malaysia...................in fact, that the years in Malaysia were riddled with axiety about sanitation and foodhandling among other things).........so maybe it is simply an easy-to-eat and easy-to-digest meal that increases positive feelings.........whatever the reason, it worked....................I found a quick quiz to find out what comfort food you are........ http://www.blogthings.com/whatcomfortfoodareyouquiz/ and it seems I am 'mac n cheese' (lactose intolerant and don't think I have ever eaten Mac n cheese but does that matter?)!  How 5 questions can be pretty much on the mark to sum me up, beats me..............but anyway this is how I am described...........When you are stressed out, you seek safety above everything else.
And nothing is more nourishing than a big warm plate of carbs.Taking risks takes a toll on you, and you prefer your comfort food to be old fashioned. You're the type of person who could eat the same meal every night, especially when life is hard
.  
What comfort food are you?


Monday 28 May 2012

Glamour Puss

Started the day with a weights session with the interval run session as a chaser and I indulged in some dance anthems (from about 10 years ago I realise.......eek) whilst I was at it.......have a listen too...........Chicane, Funkstar De Luxe, Kelis, Mr Timothy, We are family, Was not was, Happy, Flower Power, Stay, Push Up, Is it cos I'm Cool ........seriously that was another lifetime but I might add the heels were as glamorous then as they are now :) ah................the memory of me perched on the bar in a fabulously fringed (vintage) frock with my feet slipped in a glittery pair of seriously sexy heels.........................holding court and watching the comings and goings..................stories for another time :)

Sunday 27 May 2012

FYI

  • Yesterday's run session was once again undertaken in the sanctity of the gym and then followed up with a sweaty, bendy yoga session in which we explored courage.......I was challenged
  • Today we skipped the run and weights and took the pooch for a stretch on the beach @ Port Melbourne.
  • My nephew looked through his 'nockulars' (in Queensland) and waved at our pooch (in Melbourne)
  • I realise that I am a bit slow to catch on but the series Nurse Jackie is fantastic. Get it!
  • Apparently running a marathon is all about triumph over adversity. There's nothing in life that you can't triumph over after that". I have run 3 marathons and I am currently testing this theory....................
  • I have been experimenting making muffins without sugar - mixed results...inspired by 'The Sweet Poison Quit Plan"
  • Watch 60 Minutes tonight to catch the story about a married couple, Kel and Gaz Pitman (in my age bracket) who do Ironman events.....................forever young.................did I mention we share the same coach?
  • Cross country mountain bike riding builds big quads (watching some of the action of the World Cup on TV)
  • I would really like to write a story for little people
  • Finally................

Friday 25 May 2012

Winter warmer

I know, I know..............we aren't officially in the season of winter yet but with forecasts of wild weather heading our way (and I only had to look at the evidence outside the windows this morning to know that it was true) took my run indoors at the gym.....................with an apparent temperature (takes into account the wind chill) of -1.3 I don't think I was being a sook wanting to stay in doors - I did the interval session, sweated and clocked just over 10kms....................if I had taken my run session outside I doubt that I would have warmed up enough to sweat and I don't think I would have had enough head space to contemplate the puzzle of life because my thoughts would have been spitting chips about running in such crap conditions!
Anyway I am looking forward to tasting the winter warmer that I have made for dinner...................vegetarian lasagne..............mmmmmm (courtesy of this week's WHO mag)

Thursday 24 May 2012

Later alligator

Ha the alarm sounded early this morning and even though I had done visualising before falling asleep last night, I was lightning quick to decide that I wasn't getting up and promptly fell back asleep...............only to get up a little while later to do an early morning yoga class....................I know that I will catch up the missed run session later.......................
May your day be bendy :)

Tuesday 22 May 2012

Cool, cold, colder

This morning's apparent temperature (takes into account wind chill etc) was 1.4 degrees..............an icy windy 1.4 degrees.....................no matter what direction we ran through the city we couldn't dodge the wind, so thankfully the run session was a mere 40 minutes long........just as we were almost finished it started to rain icy shards.................heading indoors to the gym afterwards was a welcome respite from the cold but the steaming shower post weights was the best reward :)

Monday 21 May 2012

Face mask

Did a yoga class this morning......................the yoga teacher, whom I had never met before, was like most yoga teachers - calm, zen, light on foot, wise and at peace..............................as well as super strong and bendy.........................oh and overflowing with an abundance of yoginess statements........................the words that resonated with me today were faith, trust and love..................it was as though she knew about my crossroads......................so much so that when savasana (corpse pose) at the end of the class, I felt a tear escape each closed eye and slide down slowly to the nape of my neck.......being present to the tears rolling down made me wonder whether the ties of my 'everything is ok' mask were slipping or unravelling...........................
The wonder is that people often come to yoga for the stretch, and leave with a lot more.

Sunday 20 May 2012

Fun run in the sun

Apparently what distinguishes those of us at the start line from those of us on the sofa is that we learn through running to take what the day gives us, what our body will allow us and what we can tolerate........my body certainly spoke to me at the fun run this morning in Templestowe...............originally slated to do the 10km run, my body really wanted to do nothing more than 5kms and that was that. The day was crisp and glorious.......fantastic running conditions.............also great conditions for walking the pooch who waited patiently in the car :)

Saturday 19 May 2012

Awesome Presence

This morning's run was really grounded in being present............not sure that I made a conscious effort to be present but it just seemed to happen...............it started when I farewelled my favourite triathlete off on a 5 hr bike ride to Kinglake and I heard the rain falling on the roof..................normally hearing rain (knowing I am heading outdoors) turns me off..............however today I walked out the front door and turned my face skyward and felt the drizzle on my face. I was tempted to walk back inside and skip the run but I grabbed my keys and jumped in the car...................when I got to the Tan it was raining.....................I started my Garmin watch and off I went..........I was aware of the biting cold wind on my face, the crunch of autumn under my feet, the grit flicking up onto my legs, the sound of the seashore in my ears as I ran into a slight headwind, the greyof the skies, the roar of the passenger plane overhead bringing people to Melbourne, the yellow tinged glow of the lamplights along the streets, the metallic scraping of the trams moving, the magpies warbling in conversation, the chatter of friends out walking, the megaphone voice instructing the rowers, the pelaton whooshing by, the pooch whining to its owner to keep moving.....................it was a run that was alive.
My awareness continued beyond my run..................the creaminess of the soy milk in my coffee, the coolness of the house, the dryness of the newspaper..........................I headed over to South Melbourne for a dynamic yoga class.....................I was present to my Ujjayi breathing, to the spots in my body that I was holding tension, to the rivulets of sweat springing from my skin, the laughs in the room after the teacher cracked a joke and the tears that ran from my eyes when we were in Pigeon pose..............................the most important pieces of equipment you need for doing yoga are your body and your mind.

Thursday 17 May 2012

Caped crusader

I kid you not, a man was running near Birrarung Marr (near Fed Square along the Yarra River) this morning, his black cape billowing out behind him...........my short 40 minute run through the city was followed by an hour yoga class @ Union Yoga...................gorgeous way to start the day :)

Yoga is the perfect opportunity to be curious about who you are


Wednesday 16 May 2012

Pain killer or killer pain

Lovely calm morning for my run session........thinking about the grief that my shoulder gave me yesterday during the run, I decided to swallow some pain killers before I set off in the hope that they would dull any ache that might show it's annoying head.............nah the pain killers didn't work..........oh well :(

Tuesday 15 May 2012

Stress reliever!

We live in a world of increased accountability and everything seems to tout volumes of evidence/research that back up the reasons why we should be doing something or not doing something........running and exercise is no different........I subscribe to a number of online sites about health and wellbeing and spend my hard earned dollars on magazines that tell me that exercise has many benefits. The benefit of helping to keep migraines at bay is a stand out for me.........I have tried hard to dodge one today and I wrestled with 2 last week.....so I will keep on running to stay at least one step ahead of the migraines........there is also something to be said about keeping stress at a minimum and if research is to be believed, exercise (including running) assists in this.......I can see myself quietly rocking in a corner with an exploding head should I ever hang up my running shoes....appealing thought isn't it?..... This morning's run started a little later than it would normally........I was a bit achy from weights but a little quote handed out freely at yoga a few days ago kept swirling in my head "how you do anything is how you do everything".......that quote was my running friend as well as remembering to breathe through my discomfort........I will admit that I was happy to finish the 65 minute session mainly because I was so bloody present to my shoulder ache that I was ready to rip it out of it's socket! Anyway I will just add that I am taken with the scrumptious new season shoes.........I am aching to try some on......that is an ache I am happy to have!

Saturday 12 May 2012

I got chills, they're multiplying......

This morning's run session was mighty chilly.......another struggle to get out of bed but what got me up was the statement from yoga last night "how you do anything is how you do everything".........I thought about how I do anything (and I am still thinking about it) and that was enough to propel me out of bed and into the dark cold morning...........happy that I covered just over 14.5kms before breakfast. Have you worked out how you do anything and everything? Is it confronting for you?

Sunday 6 May 2012

Definition of Insanity

Many of you would be familiar with Albert Einstein's definition of insanity: the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.......................my post migraine (very) slow and easy hour long run today provided me the head space to weigh up things and contemplate my options......................I think I have been able to pinpoint the insanity in my life and am making moves to change it........................do you know what your insanity is?

Not hanging around

Yesterday....................less than 24 hours ago..........................the plan was to do the interval run session (about 90 minutes in total) before heading out for a day of rock climbing and abseiling in the You Yangs................however once the alarm rang somewhere between 4 and 5 am, we decided to ignore it and bunker down for some more sleep eventually getting up around 6.30am...................I did my best to ignore the niggle in my head (I had been wrestling with an ongoing headache for 3 days prior) but as we drove towards to You Yangs, little tears escaped my eyes (my realisation that a migraine was coming) and ran down my cheeks..............I tried really hard to wish it away and in a vain attempt to kick it to the kerb I swallowed 2 neurofen......................by this stage the mountain range was in sight and I had become a silent weeping blob in the passenger seat :( I cried my apologies to my favourite person when it became evident that the rest of my day would be spent in the dark of the bedroom taking magic migraine tablets and unable to withstand noise, movement or light.
Next time

Friday 4 May 2012

Finding my feet

40 minute run done and dusted...............I realised that it takes me about 25 minutes before I find my running feet.....................you know that feeling..........when your breathing is settled, when you have adjusted and then readjusted everything from your clothing to your bra straps, scratched all your itches and the sweat starts to bead........................and as I ran today I thought about the following tips that I saw posted on facebook this morning. Happy Friday!

Self Help Kept Simple
1. Don’t eat what you don’t need.
2. Stop doing what doesn’t work.
3. In most instances, the solution is you.
4. Getting offended is optional. As is getting off your arse. See how that works?
5. Changing fifty things at once is a bad plan.
6. Knowing isn’t doing. Do more.
7. Joining a gym isn’t attending a gym.
8. Being smart is not the same as doing smart.
9. Intentions aren’t actions. Stop intending.
10. You won’t undo three decades of bad choices in three weeks. Be realistic.
11. Be more committed to success than comfort.
12. Control your controllables and let go of the rest.

Wednesday 2 May 2012

Morning and Night

Yesterday it was a morning 70 minute hill run session followed by restorative yoga session that night..............the happy baby pose makes me smile :). Today was a rest day and tomorrow starts with a gym session.
Happy hump day!